Gone for Just a while
by Semmett
Summary: An idea that wudn't leave me alone, RxI centric, character death, sappy. PLease review
1. Chapter 1

The memories of holding his cold mother engulf him as he watches her body fly through the air. He tries to make his body move.. but it doesn't.

Even in dying she seems to do it gracefully.

Three Hollows, it wasn't supposed to be hard, after everything that's happened, all the crap they went through at Soul Society it seemed easy, especially with Chad, Orihime and Ishida. But then life never really does what its supposed to.

He remembers her feet pounding behind her as they race to where her cell phones bleeping and where he can sense it, and her telling him to be careful and not do anything stupid, about grabbing Kon and having a pointless conversation about having to get the pill out, the ever strange sensation of being pushed out of his body and feeling the weight of his weapon on his back.

In the last few months since she's inhabited his little world it's become very complicated, terrifying and daunting. With his family and friends being threatened more then once, there have been times when he's wanted nothing more then to tell her to go back from where she's come from and leave him alone. But there have also been times when he's wanted nothing more then to make sure she's safe and with him…home. He's never voiced anything but his actions show it… and he's almost certain she knows…and he's almost certain she feels the same. But he won't push it.

Three hollows. Three hollows, big hollows. Orihime's down healing the Quincy and Chad uses his awesome force to take down one. Ichigo slices one down the middle of the other destroying it. His eyes scan the park to find the other one…where?

Suddenly it drops from above, how he didn't sense it he doesn't know but that doesn't matter for the moment, he'll worry later. All that matters now is that it's still here, still able to harm others…and that it's his job to destroy it.

Tentacles and tails whip round to destroy him and protect itself. Almost blindly he cuts one away causing it to scream in agony as black blood oozes out. In retaliation it whips its powerful tail round, catching Ichigo off guard it hurls him backwards into a wall. He slams into it causing multiple cracks and he loses his sword in the process, having felt it slip from his grasp as he was flung backwards.

He gives himself a few seconds of respite to catch his breath and try and figure out where the five other Hollows have suddenly appeared from. Shaking his head he tries to clear it but only finds this makes it worse. Gingerly touching the back of his head he feels the slimy substance that could only be blood running down his fingers.

"ICHIGO!" Rukia shouts rushing to his side, helping him stand up. "CHAD! Take care of the hollow!" She says, a grunt can be heard from Chad showing the he understands and with a quick blow destroys one of the hollows leaving only one behind. Orihime looks up from healing her friend and calculates that she'll be able to join the battle in the next few minuets after she's done healing him.

Ichigo leans heavily upon her, using her shoulder for a crutch. "Am glad your short." He jokes, normally she'd be angry at such a comment but right now there isn't time for either of their egos, so she gives a memo to herself to shout at him later.

Slowly leading away from the fight she takes him to the sidelines, his free hands uses the wall as a guide and letting go of Rukia he slumps down, leaning against the wall he breaths heavily trying to get air into his aching lungs.

She leaned over him mumbling something, her hand making random gestures, he tried to follow with both his eyes and ears but he was in to much pain to really pay any attention. After a few seconds her hands stopped moving.

"Lay still Ichigo, you need a few minuets before you can move and their fully healed. My demon spells aren't that strong." She didn't complete the sentence but he could tell, after all the time he'd spent with her that she was feeling useless, angry at herself and fate for the removal of all her powers, hence making her feel useless. He was about to say something to tell her that she wasn't useless and she was needed, if not for her powers then for herself but as he opened his mouth all hell broke loose.

As if in slow motion he heard a shout from Chad, as a tail came and swept him off his feet and sent him hurtling in the same way as Ichigo had just gone. The Hollow had turned and faced Orihime, but she'd placed a shield up to protect her and her ward. It had then turned it's attention to the substitute-shinigami and ex-shinigami. It covered the pitiful distance between them in less then a second, Ichigo willed his body to get up and fight it, but it was coming to fast and he was still not ready to move. And then it happened. One moment all that had filled his vision was the advancing hollow, then next her back was the only thing in view, shielding him.. protecting him.

For a second time seemed to stop, as he tried to take in what had just happened, a part of his brain taking into account the blood that was dripping to the floor, but from whom he couldn't work out. Then a tentacle suddenly appeared, he could see its course, and where it was going to land, but he still couldn't move! Then it hit her, and threw her body sideway in the air.

He saw her move, but no part of him worked, even his brain had shut down in protest of what was going on, refusing to believe what had just happened. But he was woken out of his reverie by the sound of her body landing unceremoniously on the ground, she rolled a few times before coming to a standstill, her back still to him. He had refused to listen to the many cracks that had just come from her little body.

But it was enough to wake him up. Screaming full of pain, horror and fear, he launched himself from his position and swung his sword down, nothing, not even a gods armour could have stopped the blade, the hollow stood no chance. He didn't even register it disappear, already running to his colleagues fallen side.

"ORIHIME!" He shouted. She understood already what he meant and seemed to materialize in beside him, calling out her spirits names she ordered them to heal her fallen friend.

They hovered but didn't move.

"What's going on? Why aren't they doing anything?" He said. Orihime didn't answer, instead she listened to the high-pitched squeals of the fairy's as they said something before disappearing. Silence hung as he waited for an answer.

"They can't" she mumbled, looking guiltily at the ground. "She's not in a real body, so they can't heal her….I'm so sorry." She continued. He didn't say anything, struck dumb at the entire horror of the situation.

Taking Rukias head he gently placed it on his lap.. not trusting himself to speak. But it was as if the contact was all she needed to revive, because she opened her eyes.

"She can't heal me can she." A statement, not a question, she said hoarsely. He nodded, blinking rapidly to hide the tears that threatened to fall. She said nothing, accepting her fate as she had at the time she'd been in the white tower. Ichigo tried to summon any other emotion within himself other then unhappiness and found that the only one that would fill the space was misplaced anger.

"Why?" He whispered looking down on her. "Why'd you have to get in the way, I could have taken it?" She gave a ghost of a smile, and he was pretty sure she mumbled something like 'ungrateful bastard' or 'your welcome'. Realising he was in the wrong he apologised, but as a reply she just laughed, and raspy and unhealthy thing, and said;

"That's the first time you've ever apologised." He was about to give some witty, sarcastic remark when she suddenly was taken by a series of racking coughs, causing her to spit up blood.

"No.." he said, finally realizing he couldn't win this battle, even if it was the most important one, he still couldn't win it, no matter how much willpower and strength he had. Then with a last final breath, she passed from the world.

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Please review

There is another chapter to come

With much more emotion

I just came up with the idea and couldn't find it anywhere else so I've decided to post it here.

But please so flames

And soz of it ooc


	2. Chapter 2

No…he wasn't going to accept it, not Rukia. She didn't die, she was going to open her eyes right now…she was going to tell him it was a really really sick joke. He willed with all his life force for her to have one more breath, and for the blood to stop pouring, but most of all for the warmth to return to her skin. After everything they'd gone through in soul society, she'd been killed by an insignificant hollow. Slowly stroking the stray hairs from her face he slowly tried to come to the terms that she was dead, tried to encompass this information and how it was going to affect his life.

No more chappy bunnies, no more stopping off at the pet store every day after school for half an hour to look at the baby bunnies, he wouldn't have to keep saving and hiding his money for the baby bunny she stared at longingly all the time in the window. No more making excuses for their behavior or having his sisters give him wired looks for having to eat so much or leaving his house to go fight some hollow in the middle of the night. No more hitting the boys in his class for making comments about her. He finally had his room back, just like he'd wished so many times when they'd done their homework. He now had his cupboard back. No more seeing her face every waking moment, no more of her stupid drawings. No more of her and it terrified him. Because with these thoughts come to the realization of what she truly meant to him, he hadn't cared for a person this much since his mother.

"Protecting me to the end.." He whispered sarcastically.

"Well of course" She replied. Ichigo's head snapped up, looking quickly at the body of his fallen comrade he hoped that she really was alive, and that the blood had stopped. But her eyes were still closed and the blood still poured.

And it was in that second that he realised why he was hearing her, and in that second he wished it wasn't and wanted nothing more then to curse every god that existed, this was like pouring a ton of salt into his wounds. This wasn't fair, he shouldn't have to do this. The thought of just not looking up crossed his mind, but he realised it was useless. Trying to steady his already strained emotions and mind he finally got the courage to look up. There stood Rukia, in all her glory with a sad smile on her lips her eyes conveying all types of emotions, even ghosts still have feelings.

xoxoxoxo

Orihime gasped, the name of her dead friend falling dead on her lips, Chad and Ishida looked at the bizarre scene. Orihime realizing her orange haired friend needed to talk to Rukia alone got up and walked towards her other friends.

Ichigo looked at the ghost of the woman's body she held in her hands cradled in his lap, the blood was still seeping from her wounds and yet here she stood before him. He knew what she was going to ask even before she said it. He was a death god, this was his duty.

"You have to help me pass on." She said quietly. He said nothing not trusting himself to speak. She looked at him understanding that what she was asking him was most likely killing him inside. He shook his head, he wasn't going to do it.

Giving a sad smile she knelt down, taking his hands from her carcass. "It's my time Ichigo, I can't pass on unless you help me."

"I can't" He said hoarsely, his voice close to breaking, this wasn't fair, not after everything he had done to save her, he couldn't even watch her be taken away from him, let alone be the one to make her leave him. She took one of the hands she was holding and placed them in the middle of her chest, the chain was supposed to be there, the chain that was supposed to keep her anchored in this world was no longer there. There was nothing they could do, she was dead and all there was left to do was help her move on. Ichigo knew that he couldn't fight this, he knew and yet every part of him wanted to fight

it.

He looked at her, a thousand thoughts clamored in his head, each one wanting to be said to Rukia, so that she would understand and know. She saw the battle raging inside one of the few men she cared deeply for, so deeply she was willing to be sacrificed and die for him.

She pulled him up, the body falling lifelessly to the floor, then closing the gap she hugged him trying to sooth his spirit just a little. Ichigo stood rigid, never before had she been so forward, but found his body responding to her and returning the hug.

"I can't loose you," He said into her hair, squeezing his eyes shut to stop the tears that threatened to fall. "I can't be the one to send you away."

"I don't want to leave either." She said, silent tears falling from her eyes and soaking through to the black cloth that signaled him as a death god. "I want to stay here, I don't want to leave this place I call home…But I don't have a choice." She hugged him tighter.

"You have to help me pass on, I trust you to do it right." Ichigo said nothing, trying to memorise every feeling and sensation there was with her in his embrace. Then building up the courage he did something he'd been wanting to do for an age. Pulling away from her slightly he brought one of his hands to slowly stroke her cheek, and pushing her face up slightly to face him leaned down and gave a kiss, trying to convey every feeling that was inside his head in the kiss. He had thought it was going to be just a quick chaste kiss but he hadn't counted on her returning the kiss. But she did, and with an intensity that surprised both of them and which he found himself matching. He slipped his hand behind her and pulled her closer. He wanted to stay exactly where he was and have this exact feeling inside of him for all eternity, but in the end he had to pull away. The longer the kiss went on the more that small amount of resolution he had inside him would disappear.

Neither said anything, but then it didn't need to be said, both knew and that was enough for them.

"I'll find you," he said, "And when I come I don't care how big Soul society is or how long I have to, but I will find you." She smiled.

"I know you will." She stated. "But don't come for many years. Live Ichigo, just like your mother and I want. Promise me.." She asked. HE didn't reply but kissed her lighly on the forhead, and before he found the courage to stop himself he plunged the blade in.

The tears he'd fought so hard to contain finally escaped as he watched the only woman he'd cared for after the demise of his mother turn into the most beautiful butterfly and leave him.

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Ok….there u go

This took a while to do I left it and then came back to it and have been going on and off 4 ages

**Please review and I'm quite upset because 136 people viewed the last chapter and do you want to know how many people reviewed….1!**

I think I OD'ed on the emotion and I'm soz if there a bit out of character.

Please no flames…I just really don't like them


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